Kris Blindenbacher

Position:
Goalkeeper
Height:
6-2
Weight:
195
Class:
Freshman
Hometown:
Narberth, Pa.
High School:
Haverford School

General: Three-year letter winner... a tri-captain of the 2002 Tar Heels... started three games for the Tar Heels as a freshman, was the full-time starter as a sophomore and split time as the starter last year with Robert D'Urso... missed several games last season because of a concussion suffered in practice prior to the Navy game... has made 299 career saves and has 87 career ground balls... has a career goals against average of 9.93 goals per contest and a career save percentage of .566.

2001 Season: Had career bests for goals against average (8.70 per game) and save percentage (.590)... missed several games in the middle of the season after suffering a concussion in practice prior to the Navy game... started six games and played in seven and had 72 saves and 50 goals allowed... had 14 ground balls on the season... started games last season against Fairfield and Bucknell... suffered a concussion in practice the week after that was out of commission until he came on in relief against Johns Hopkins...then started the last four games of the season against Virginia, UMBC, Duke and Pfeiffer... played all 60 minutes against Fairfield, Bucknell, Virginia, UMBC and Duke... was brilliant against Virginia as he made 22 saves, just one short of his career high, and allowed only five goals... also scooped up eight ground balls in that game, which equaled his career high in that statistic... had 11 saves and seven goals allowed in the season-opening win over Fairfield... had 14 saves and 11 goals allowed in a solid effort against Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinals... came off the bench to play the second half against Hopkins, making eight saves and allowing six goals... had nine saves and three ground balls versus Bucknell.

2000 Season: Started all 14 games for Carolina... played over 829 minutes and had 186 saves while allowing 143 goals... had a save percentage of .565 and a goals against average of 10.35 per game... had a career high 23 saves at Johns Hopkins in a 10-8 loss... had 22 saves in the ACC Tournament semifinals against Virginia in a 17-16 double overtime loss... made 10 or more saves in 10 games... was named the ACC Player of the Week after making 14 saves and allowing only six goals in a win over Butler on February 26, 2000... had 17 saves and allowed only six goals allowed in in win over Pennsylvania on March 13, 2000... had 58 ground balls on the season with a season high eight against UMBC and seven against Delaware.

1999 Season: Was Carolina's top backup in goal as a freshman... turned in respectable numbers while playing 210 minutes between the pipes in six games... had 41 saves and 36 goals allowed... also retrieved 15 ground balls... started three times... the starting assignments came against Denver, Princeton and Johns Hopkins...played the whole 60 minutes in the game against Denver and saw 45 minutes of action against Loyola in a relief role... had a season high 11 saves versus Denver, while allowing only four goals... his performance against top-ranked Loyola was outstanding, making nine saves and allowing only five goals while playing the last three quarters of the game.

Prep: A two-time all-league and all-state selection in lacrosse as a high school player... also named an All-America his senior year and the most valuable player of the state championship game his senior year...his team lost in three overtimes in that game... captain and most valuable player of that Haverford School squad... also played basketball and football for one year each at the Haverford School... named All-Delco player of the year.

Personal: Given name is Kristopher Feydt Blindenbacher... nicknames include “Blindy” and “Hedgehog”... born December 28, 1979 in Bryn Mawr, Pa.... has two brothers and one sister... son of Anthony and Debbie Zappacosta... enjoys skiing in his spare time... favorite musical group is Phish and favorite athletes are Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson and Wayne Gretzky... major is communications... hobbies include skiing, running and playing tennis... biggest sports thrill was beating Princeton in overtime as a freshman 10-9 and winning at Virginia last season 7-5.

Personality Chart
Nickname: Blindy
College Major... Communications
Post-School Ambition... Be successful and happy and have a wonderful family
Hobbies... Skiing, Running, Playing Tennis
Person Who Has Had the Greatest Influence on Your Athletic Career... John Nostrant—high school coach
Athletes You Most Admire... Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Allen Iverson
Best Book You’ve Ever Read... The Firm
Favorite Foods... Steak, Caesar Salad
Favorite TV Show... Seinfeld
Movie You’ve Most Enjoyed... Top Gun
Biggest Sports Thrill... Beating Princeton in OT as a freshman 10-9 and defeating Virginia in Charlottesville last season 7-5
Interesting Fact... Says he traveled with the circus as a small child
Complete Name... Kristofor Feydt Blindenbacher
Birthdate and Birthplace... Bryn Mawr Hospital, Bryn Mawr, Pa., December 28, 1979
Parents' Names... Anthony and Debbie Zappacosta

Kris Blindenbacher's Career Statistics
Year	GP/GS	GB	MIN	SV	GA	%	GAA
1999	6/3	15	210:00	41	36	.532	10.29
2000	14/14	58	829:05	186	143	.565	10.35
2001	7/6	14	345:00	72	50	.590	8.70
Totals	27/23	87	1384:05	299	229	.566	9.93

Career Highs:
Saves : 23 vs. Johns Hopkins, 4/1/00; Ground Balls: 8 vs. UMBC, 4-15-00, and vs. Virginia, 4-7-01; Takeaways:2 vs. Virginia, 4-8-00.